The present invention relates generally to systems for determining fuel usage for fuel tax computation purposes, and more specifically to such systems operable to automatically track fuel usage within a definable jurisdiction.
In the commercial trucking industry, it is desirable to track data associated with vehicle travel within a definable jurisdiction. Such data may include distance traveled, time of travel, fuel used, etc. Not only is such data valuable to commercial fleet owners/operators in tracking vehicle performance, at least some of this data is necessary for properly allocating vehicle operating information among the various jurisdictions (i.e., states, regions, counties, etc.) traveled. Properly allocated vehicle operating information may then be used for determining state fuel tax, DOT location for status changes, route recording, and the like.
Heretofore, it has been known to automatically track mileage traveled within a state for fuel tax computation purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,528 to Haendel et al. discloses one such system including a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, a truck odometer, a memory containing state boundaries, a processor and a recording device. The Haendel et al. system is operable to determine the state in which the vehicle is traveling by comparing current GPS coordinates with stored coordinates of state boundaries. When the vehicle enters a new state, the processor is operable to automatically record a state identifier along with the odometer mileage. Upon trip completion, the recorded information may be downloaded and processed to determine the mileage traveled within each state. Fuel tax may then be allocated among the various states in accordance with the mileage data.
While the Haendel et al. system provides a useful system for accurately determining mileage traveled within each state, it has certain drawbacks associated therewith, particularly when used for computing fuel tax information. For example, while the distance traveled within any state may accurately reflect road use, it is not a reliable predictor of fuel usage. Fuel usage is actually a function of many factors including, but not limited to, vehicle size/engine rating, vehicle/engine operating characteristics, vehicle operator tendencies, distance traveled, road conditions, weather conditions, traffic conditions, and the like. A system operable to determine only distance traveled within a jurisdiction therefore cannot accurately and reliably estimate fuel usage during travel. Moreover, emissions regulations within some jurisdictions may require an accurate determination of fuel used during idling conditions, and the Haendel et al. system includes no provisions for making such a determination.
What is therefore needed is a system for accurately determining fuel usage within a definable jurisdiction. Ideally, such a system should be operable to differentiate at least between fuel used during driving and fuel used during idling conditions.
The foregoing shortcomings of the prior art are addressed by the present invention. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a system for determining fuel usage within a jurisdiction comprises means for determining a jurisdiction of a vehicle carrying an internal combustion engine, means responsive to fueling signals for supplying fuel to the engine, means for producing the fueling signals and for producing fueling values corresponding to fuel quantities associated with the fueling signals, and means for continually accumulating the fueling values while the vehicle is within the jurisdiction to thereby determine a total fuel quantity used by the engine within the jurisdiction.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a system for determining fuel usage within a jurisdiction comprises a fuel system responsive to fueling signals to supply fuel to an internal combustion engine, a control computer producing the fueling signals and broadcasting fueling values corresponding to fuel quantities associated with the fueling signals, and a driver interface module including means for determining a jurisdiction of a vehicle carrying the internal combustion engine and an auxiliary computer receiving the fueling values broadcast by the control computer, the auxiliary computer continually accumulating the fueling values as long as the vehicle is within the jurisdiction to thereby determine a total fuel quantity used by the engine within the jurisdiction.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of determining fuel usage within a jurisdiction comprising the steps of determining a jurisdiction of a vehicle carrying an internal combustion engine, recording a fueling value corresponding to a current quantity of fuel used by the engine, and monitoring vehicle location and continually accumulating the fueling value as long as the vehicle is located within the jurisdiction to thereby determine a total amount of fuel used by the engine within the jurisdiction.
One object of the present invention is to provide an improved system for determining fuel usage within any jurisdiction.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system operable to distinguish fuel used within any jurisdiction according to vehicle/engine operational mode.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system for determining fuel usage within any jurisdiction via, in part, fueling messages broadcast by a vehicle/engine control computer onto a J1587 or J1939 datalink.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment.